Open AccessUsing ferrule-top opto-mechanical probes as a new tool in VCSEL reliability experiments
Author(s) -
Camiel H. van Hoorn,
Freek Ariese,
Davide Iannuzzi,
A. Mank
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.030318
Subject(s) - ferrule , materials science , optics , vertical cavity surface emitting laser , laser , near field scanning optical microscope , near and far field , microscopy , optical microscope , optoelectronics , image resolution , semiconductor laser theory , optical fiber , scanning electron microscope , physics
Today, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are used in many high-end applications, for which the laser lifetime is a critical parameter. Changes in the spatial distribution of the various emission modes of the VCSEL can be used as an early sign of device degradation, enhancing the speed and detail of failure mode analysis. We have developed a ferrule-top combined atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) probe that can be used to analyze the transverse mode pattern of the 850 nm radiation at a <200 nm spatial resolution. During accelerated lifetime testing, the newly developed method shows that small local changes in the optical output can already be detected before any sign of device degradation is observed with conventional methods.